A Promise to You
by Choosing Sarah
Summary: They made a promise to each other to be up front if they found somebody else. McNozzo, Mild Slash, Abby/Tim friendship.


**Title: **A Promise to You

**Author: **Choosing Sarah

**Fandom: **NCIS

**Rated: **G

**Category: **McNozzo, Abby/Tim friendship

**Spoilers: **Season 1 only. Set in season 7

**Summary:** They made a promise to each other to be up front if they found somebody else.

**Word Count:** 1465

**Disclaimer: **NCIS does not belong to me. This story is written for entertainment purposes only, not for profit.

Tim's fingers pause on the second keyboard at the workstation in Abby's lab when he realizes he's alone with her for what seems like the first time in months—two months and three days to be precise.

"Come on, McGee," Abby elbows him none too gently. "Get cracking."

"I found someone," he blurts out.

"Why didn't you say so? Did you find him through the car?"

"No, I mean I _found_ someone," he subtly emphasizes.

"You," her brows raise, "oh you mean you—oh" she stops herself and turns back to her own keyboard nodding. "So, uh, I take it, it's serious then."

McGee bites his lip. "Yeah," he declares and watches her focus on her data for another few moments. He watches her bite her own lip and recalls almost physically how that used to drive him crazy every single time he saw her do it. Abby's got great lips. It took a long time for him to get over them. His eyes move back to his work and he sees Abby open her mouth from his peripheral vision—like she was waiting for his gaze to leave her.

"Not another cheerleader, I hope?" And there's a stiffness to her words that Tim knows he would share if she were the one standing here saying they could never happen ever again.

Briefly, he looks to her again. Her fingers are like electricity across the board, but nearly a third of her movements go toward the backspace. "No, Abby," he says and he can't help but smile just a little at how very unwarranted that concern is. "There was just the one."

"Good." She nods again, her pigtails bouncing heavily. Finally, her fingers halt, but she doesn't look up from her keyboard. "She'll have to answer to me and Ziva if she doesn't treat you right."

"He," McGee automatically corrects and then immediately blushes to his ears. He and Abby had discussed his preferences before they'd even started dating, but he still gets embarrassed to think about how enthusiastic Abby has always been about his bisexuality.

A part of him still believes Abby yet thinks that the reason he didn't want to be in a threesome with her was because he was too worried about being left out, which to be fair he was. But more than this, he's always believed that making love should be one on one, and every single time he's ever been with Abby—even from the first—it had always been making love, at least it was for him.

"He?" Abby asks and draws him back into the conversation with how high the inflection is in her voice.

"He," McGee confirms with a high nod.

"Wow," Abby smiles a little lopsidedly and raises her eyebrows in mock flirtation.

McGee shakes his head and blushes even more deeply, smiling now as he does. "Oh no. We're not getting into that."

"Come on," she wheedles. "Just a few details. We don't even have to start with anything exciting." She turns to him more fully. "How about just his name?"

And then McGee visibly hesitates even as he _knows_ Abby can read his body language like her favorite book.

"I know him, then?" she exclaims and the glee goes up a notch.

"Yes, you know him," Tim confirms, keeping his hands on either side of the keyboard while his face turns totally towards her. "But he's not out yet, Abby. This is really new to him, and I'm okay with waiting." He tries to convey how honestly he feels that statement. "I really am."

Her brows furrow and her lips purse like she doesn't want to bring up the next subject but feels she has to. "Are you afraid he'll change his mind?"

"About he and I?" he asks, surprised, then frowns and tilts his chin a little more to the right. "He and I, him and me?" he asks himself.

She smacks his arm. "Enough. Yes," she emphasizes with a shake of her head. "Are you worried he'll change his mind about the two of you being together if other people know about you."

"No," he shakes his head, surprised once again about how sure he is. There'd been a time in the beginning when he'd been half sure it was all a joke, that he'd be dumped on his ass and laughed at. There's just been too many things about it that reminded him of the 'Claire' debacle, but then Tim realized there was a reason 'Claire' and his lover had so much in common—there was always sincerity underlying every action, even every joke. "He loves me," Tim says at half a whisper, still awed with the power that understanding has over him.

"Wow again," Abby's neck shifts back as her eyes widen yet again. "And do you? Love him?" she clarifies though he doesn't need to ask.

"Yeah," Tim nods. "A lot," he confides, blushing with warmth for his lover.

"Then I'm so happy for you," Abby decrees, bouncing over to him and crushing him with one of her patented hugs.

He relaxes into the hug, feeling the insistence in her arms that there will never be a last one of these between them. "Thanks, Abs," And he squeezes her back so hard in relief that he makes her squeal.

She's smiling so widely when they step back from the hug, her arms and his arms still around each other. And that, of course, is when Tony walks in.

"Hey Abs," Tony begins but doesn't even finish the abbreviation of Abby's name, seeming to startle at the sight of them in such close quarters.

Tim turns to look at him, and there must be something in his expression because Tony relaxes immediately upon seeing it.

"Oh hey, Tony," Abby greets him back, apparently not hearing Tony's hesitation in saying her name.

"How's my favorite Goth princess?" Tony asks, sliding on his most charming persona, presumably to hide his earlier stumble over her name.

Abby rolls her eyes at his obsequiousness but smiles just the same. "You tell me I'm your favorite, then you don't even bring me a Caf-Pow?" she shakes her head. "Tony."

Tony makes a show of checking all his pockets, then winces ostentatiously. "Sorry, must have left it in my other pants?" he ends it as a question, and Tim's lips involuntarily start to curl.

Abby's smile turns into a little smirk. "So what brings you down here?" she asks, the mirth in her voice apparent.

Tony shrugs, "Gibbs is riding my ass about the car, but we've run into a dead end upstairs," Tony offers. "Just checking if the Wonder Twins had come up with anything yet."

"Not yet, Tony," Tim answers first. "We've had a lot of data to go through," he points to the screen in front of him. "GPS computer in the car shows the routes taken don't vary greatly between when the owner drove the car and when it was reported stolen."

Abby chimes in, "Fibers back from the car confirm that the same coat was in the house, but we don't have anything else to link to a suspect yet."

Tony nods, suddenly seeming nervous, "Well, I'd better let you get back to it," he says and then very deliberately walks up to Tim and kisses his cheek in full view of Abby and the lab cameras. "See you later probalicious," he whispers in Tim's ear, then winks at Abby, who, when Tim turns briefly to look, is staring at the two of them open-mouthed.

Tim looks back to watch Tony leave, seeing his lover smile shyly at him as he rounds the corner to go upstairs.

"Unh!" which is why the punch surprises him so much.

"Oh no, mister," Abby declares, indignant, "You are _definitely_ not getting out of this one this time." She smiles and her head veers right. "Tony? Really?" she says her voice soft and happy.

"Yes, really," Tim says, watching her smile but still seeing Tony's.

"You know the whole building's going to know by the end of the day," she points to the cameras.

Even he can feel the dreamy quality to his voice as it emerges. "Yeah."

"Including Gibbs," she reminds him.

Abruptly the smile leaves his face. "Gibbs."

"Don't worry, McGee," Abby puts on her serious face as she moves to hug him again. "I can use my powers for the good of others as well as myself."

And Tim's not altogether sure about that, at least when it comes to breaking Rule # 12, but with Abby wrapped around him tightly, he's at least breathing again.

"We'll get through this together," Abby insists, causing Tim to look down to her upturned face.

"Yeah," he thinks aloud. "Yeah, I think we will."

The End


End file.
